Sell Foreign and Film Rights as a Co-Agent

1. 1

   Understand the split you are working for

   Foreign and film/TV deals carry a 20 to 25 percent total commission, typically split so the primary agent and the co-agent each earn about 10 percent of the deal. Your income is that co-agent share across a catalog of titles, which is why volume of represented rights, not any single deal, is the business.

2. 2

   Pick territories or a rights category deliberately

   Either go deep on specific language markets (including the underserved ones like smaller European languages or growing Southeast Asian and African markets, where competition is thin because deal sizes are modest) or specialize by category: audiobook rights, which are increasingly negotiated separately rather than bundled, or film and TV options through producer relationships. Specialists win because generalist agencies treat these as secondary.

3. 3

   Apprentice where rights are actually sold

   Rights departments at agencies and publishers, scouting agencies, and foreign publishers' acquisition teams are the training grounds. The job is knowing which Korean, German, or Brazilian editor buys which genre, and that knowledge only comes from working the relationships.

4. 4

   Build a catalog of client agencies

   Boutique US and UK agencies without in-house foreign rights are your clients. Offer to represent their lists at the major fairs under co-agent agreements with clear splits, territory scope, and term. Ten small agencies' backlists give you a sellable catalog fast.

5. 5

   Work the fair calendar like a sales season

   Frankfurt in October, London in spring, Bologna for children's books: 30-minute meetings booked months ahead, a clean rights list PDF, and disciplined follow-up. Between fairs, pitch by email with reading material and track every editor's response; deals commonly close months after the meeting.

6. 6

   Paper deals and chase the money

   Translation contracts, advance schedules, withholding tax paperwork, and royalty statements across a dozen currencies. Prompt, accurate accounting to your client agencies is the reputation that brings the next catalog.

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